Article: Patronage Rises and a mention of SmartCard Ticketing

[Buzz Killington]

More of us are getting on the bus
4/08/2008 12:00:00 AM
ACTION patronage continues to increase, prompted by the new weekday timetable and the increased cost of fuel.
Soon after the timetable change on June 2, ACTION recorded for the first time 25,000 adult passenger journeys in a day.

Late last month the daily traffic hit a new peak 26,000 adult passengers a day.

Though pleased with the response, ACTION general manager Tom Elliott said it was placing heavy demands on some peak services.

The first of 16 new buses had arrived and would be used to augment those heavily patronised services.

The company had probably enough casual drivers to operate augmented services but not enough to introduce a new weekend timetable.

''We are still struggling with driver recruitment,'' he said.

Changes to the weekday timetable were being considered, on either the first day of the next school term or the first day of next year's first school term.

Minor adjustments not requiring timetable changes will be made.

Though pleased with the increased patronage, Mr Elliott said, ''There has to be a plateau if we can't get capacity. Given the economy and fuel prices, people will keep pushing it.''

Public transport was economically attractive but it was difficult to balance the resources to meet demand.

Despite the pressures of increasing patronage, he said, ''I would much rather be working in a growth market.''

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope indicated recently that the Government's new transport policy would aim to encourage greater use of public transport. He said he had even been interested in making bus travel free.

Mr Elliott said he did not believe any major public transport service in the world provided free travel.

If this were to occur in Canberra, it would not only eat up the annual $20million revenue from fares, but the subsequent increased patronage would add to the cost of the service.

Free travel would also cost ACTION the ability to collect data, on which planning depended.

''Operationally, I would argue we need the data to understand travel patterns,'' Mr Elliott said.

''The new ticketing system is predicated on that so we can design routes to [match] people's current patterns.''

ACTION aims to introduce an $8million smart-card ticketing system next year.

Mr Elliott said it was a real bugbear that under its present ticketing system ACTION lacked the data to make the service more efficient.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/more-of-us-are-getting-on-the-bus/1234174.aspx

[Lockie]

I would love a swipe card system

[Barry Drive]

''The new ticketing system is predicated on that so we can design routes to [match] people's current patterns.''

ACTION aims to introduce an $8million smart-card ticketing system next year.

Mr Elliott said it was a real bugbear that under its present ticketing system ACTION lacked the data to make the service more efficient.

Yes, this does mean a smart-card system. But what it also means is a tag-on tag-off system. Despite the fare structure not currently requiring it, ACTION wants to know where passengers get off the bus ("to make the service more efficient"). This could mean that any advantages gained by speeding up loading (and not having tickets getting stuck in the validator) will be reduced by slower unloading - particularly at interchanges.

[Barry Drive]

Soon after the timetable change on June 2, ACTION recorded for the first time 25,000 adult passenger journeys in a day.

This does not necessarily mean that the overall patronage of ACTION has increased either due to Network '08 or fuel prices. The key part of the above quote is journeys. How is a journey defined - is it the entire travel or just each boarding of a bus? If it represents boardings then the increase could be (partly) due to increased transfers between services not just increased net passengers.

[seat cover]

Deane's have had  a smart card system since 1999.

The new contactless cards can be read by simply waving it past a card reader. The can be used as read on and read off to pay for distance travelled can be used by the driver manualling setting tickets as deanes does or can be preset for concession, timed travel etc. I all depends who is suppling the ticketing system and who is specifing the details. 

T card was going to work like that until erg went broke. Does not pay to put in a low tender just to get a contract.

[Trolleybusracer]

Wispers... you know action are planning to get smarcards next year

Other person screams: Good god i'll use them tommorrow cause of that!!!!!

Get your hand off it 

[Bus 400]

A clue to the new ticketing system is in the new bus stop signs. As per the Transperth smartrider syetm, each stop has an individual number & location on the stop. These bus stop numbers may also mean an improvement in the bus text system.

[Busnerd]

Um, stops have always had individual numbers on the timetables and most stops used to have them on the yellow signs but in the last 4 or so years they got lazy so you never knew your stop number.

[Sir Pompously]

Bus Stops have had numbers for years. On the yellow signed with blue timetable holder, at the bottom it will have a stop number. Most if not all stops in Belconnen have had the number added to Stop Signs and Poles as far back as 2004, while Tuggeranong has alot less stops with numbers but alot do. Interchanges are also numbered stops.

[z80]

Actually I really thought the dumbrider tickets here in Perth would slow exits but other than the odd stop where the exit hasn't been programmed (Rear SCV's are disabled when not at a stop), the exit time is not really noticeable even on an artic. Probably the best thing about the dumb rider was that the whole fare excuses and student card rubbish. All concession fares require a dumb rider that usually has your ID card for the concession on the back of the dumb rider (Almost all anyway). No more arguing with French and German students about why their international student card isn't accepted.

[Bus 400]

The tender for the new ticket system closed on 04/12/08. The companies who submitted a tender were Downer EDI Works Pty Ltd & INIT GMBH